PORTSMOUTH — City ratepayers will likely see a doubling of their monthly sewer bills in the next five years to pay for federally-mandated sewer and wastewater upgrades, said Deputy City Manager David Allen.

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By Elizabeth Dinan

seacoastonline.com

By Elizabeth Dinan

Posted Feb. 21, 2013 at 3:08 PM
Updated Feb 21, 2013 at 4:50 PM

By Elizabeth Dinan

Posted Feb. 21, 2013 at 3:08 PM
Updated Feb 21, 2013 at 4:50 PM

» Social News

PORTSMOUTH — City ratepayers will likely see a doubling of their monthly sewer bills in the next five years to pay for federally-mandated sewer and wastewater upgrades, said Deputy City Manager David Allen.

“The numbers are pretty fuzzy right now, we haven't designed a plant yet,” said Allen. “But that's the best middle-of-the road estimate, doubling.”

The city has already spent $1.5 million to conduct studies and hire consultants in response to a federal lawsuit filed in 2009 and a subsequent consent decree to settle the suit. Allen said the estimated cost to comply with the decree - which calls for upgrading the Peirce Island waste treatment plant and separating water and sewer lines - will be about $60 million.

He said there are several bills being proposed to restore money to fund state grants that would pay communities 30 percent for sewer and wastewater upgrades. But even if that money was restored, he said, there would be a lot of competition from many New Hampshire communities facing similar waste-treatment mandates.

“Portsmouth, Exeter, Rochester, Dover and Newmarket are all facing the same thing,” Allen said.

The city is now in the process of interviewing engineers to design the upgraded treatment plant for Peirce Island to comply with a federal mandate for secondary treatment of city sewage, before it is discharged into the Piscataqua River. According to a scheduling agreement between the city and federal regulators, designs must be completed by August 31, 2014, plant construction must begin in March of 2015 and the plant must be complete by March of 2017.

During a discussion about the federal requirements during a Tuesday meeting of the City Council, City Manager John Bohenko said the decree requires the city to start final designs in July, while adding “we don't have all the information.”

“We're waiting on the EPA,” the city manager said. “If we hired a consultant today, we don't have the information to give them to start designing our plant. We're waiting for the EPA for information and we're probably going to disagree with some of the information they give us. But we'll work through the process and do the best we can to achieve all the goals.”

Bohenko also noted that the city has one design idea that's believed to be the best for the city, “but we want to make sure it will work as expected.”

“We don't want any problems once we're up and running,” he said.

Allen said Thursday that once an engineer is hired, public meetings will be scheduled to vet various design options and potential cost.

A federal judge on Friday approved changes to the consent decree related to violations of the Clean Water Act caused by waste discharged from the Peirce Island treatment plant and storm water runoff. According to the judge's order, the city was given the May 2017 deadline to finish the Peirce Island plant, and a deadline for sewer overflow upgrades was extended from October of this year to October 2014.

The federal government, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed suit against the city in 2009, claiming wastewater containing E. coli and coliform bacteria was discharged into the Piscataqua River and South Mill Pond “on numerous occasions” during the past five years and continues to do so. Federal regulators also alleged the Peirce Island treatment plant has “consistently” violated limitations on the concentration of “five-day biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids” in wastewater discharged into the river.

The waste treatment plant was built in 1964 and provides only “enhanced” primary sewage treatment, while secondary treatment is mandated by the EPA.

The federal suit also alleged the pond was polluted by discharge from a mixture of storm water runoff and untreated sewage from its “combined sewer overflows” during heavy storm events. The city has completed sewer separation work at different locations around the city and more is scheduled.

Where sewer separation work is being conducted, the city will extend “stormwater laterals” to residential property lines, so residents with sump pumps connected to sewer lines can change the lines to pump the water into new separated water lines, said Allen. The cost of connecting from the sump pumps to the laterals would be borne by residents, he said.

Sump pumps connected to sewer lines are considered illegal connections and force more water into the city system, that ends up going through the treatment process. Conversely, taking that water out of the sewer lines is a cost saver for the city, Allen said.